West African Flavors Do Battle as Jollof Festival Returns to Oakland

Ishmael Osekre wanted to settle the debates once and for all. Amid the everlasting argument over which West African country makes the best Jollof rice, in 2017, Osekre launched a competition that involved actually tasting the food instead of “trying to insult each other’s mama,” he says today, with a laugh.

On Saturday, July 18, the Jollof Festival returns to Oakland. Along with flavorful rice, the annual event includes live dance performances, an interactive kids zone, and handmade goods, in addition to the inevitable disputes about proper Jollof preparation.

After the inaugural Jollof Festival in Washington D.C. and a BBC article that swirled around the internet, other regions demanded local iterations of the festival. The community interest, enthusiasm and passion behind the “Jollof wars,” Osekre says on a recent phone call, encouraged him to take the show on the road in hopes of “properly preventing the next world war.”

In its most common form, Jollof rice is made with a combination of rice, meat, tomatoes and spices. Though said to originate in Senegal, nearly every country in West Africa has its own variety. And here in the Bay Area, the African diaspora is steadfast about repping their homeland through food.

“The Bay Area shows its unapologetic appreciation, interest and curiosity of African culture, African food,” Osekre says. In one of the most diverse places on earth, it isn’t lost on Osekre that the Black community is deeply connected with their southern roots and African heritage.

Quiana Webster, co-producer of the festival, adds that “Oakland is the model.”

Webster may be slightly biased — she’s an Oakland kid herself — but she’s done her homework, having traveled with the festival and witnessed it in Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and other places.

“In every state, no matter what, this rice is something that everybody wants,” she says. “They want to taste it, they want to vote about it, they want to argue and they want to come together.”

Working the Jollof Festival helped Webster expand her resources and branch off into catering as the owner of local catering business Symply Soul. It’s also pushed Osekre to grow as a student of the culinary arts. During the pandemic, he says, he spent his downtime learning to cook so he could better articulate the details of the dishes.

The festival’s format will be similar to past years. The competition is a blind tasting with “one little twist,” says Osekre. “We are introducing software that will actually tie the ticket that you bought to your vote.” (While in the past, there had been issues with Google forms and QR codes, this development will ensure one person, per vote.)

Even still, despite Osekre’s mediation efforts, the debate is sure to continue. It’s a part of the culture.

The 2026 Jollof Festival takes place Saturday, July 18, at 811 Oakland (811 Washington Street, Oakland). Admission is available in multiple tiers, including a non-voting general entry ticket and a five-country “sample pack” voting ticket. Tickets and more information here.